Overview of the iSkills Assessments and iCritical Thinking Certification Comparison Tables

Institutions that have previously administered the iSkills assessments and are now using the new iCritical Thinking Certification need to know how these two exams compare. Two comparison or concordance tables have been created to show you the correspondence between the scores of the iSkills Core and Advanced assessments and the iCritical Thinking Certification. Analyses were conducted using participants who spent at least 15 minutes on the exam, were first-time test takers, and completed at least 3 of the 14 tasks. The sample consisted of: iSkills Core: 1,215 test takers iSkills Advanced: 924 test takers iCritical Thinking Certification: 514 test takers

How do the iSkills assessments and the iCritical Thinking Certification compare?
Both exams measure information and communication technology (ICT) literacy within the context of seven task types: define, access, evaluate, manage, integrate, create and communicate. However, the exams have different score ranges: iSkills Core assessment: 0 to 300 in increments of 5 points iSkills Advanced assessment: 400 to 700 in increments of 5 points iCritical Thinking Certification: 0 to 500 in increments of 10 points The two exams also differ in format and composition. The iSkills Core and Advanced assessments were separate, while the iCritical Thinking Certification includes both Core and Advanced tasks. The iSkills assessments were composed of 15 tasks (14 short tasks and 1 long task) administered in 75 minutes, while the iCritical Thinking Certification is composed of 14 short tasks administered in 60 minutes. Aside from these differences, both exams are built to the same specification, contain many of the same tasks, and meet ETS standards for validity and reliability.

How should the comparison tables be used and interpreted?

Two comparison tables are provided: 1. The first table compares the iSkills Core assessment to the iCritical Thinking Certification. 2. The second table compares the iSkills Advanced assessment to the iCritical Thinking Certification. For populations similar to the concordance study sample, these tables may be used with confidence to translate iSkills average scores to iCritical Thinking Certification average scores. For example, if you had previously administered the iSkills Core assessment, you can translate the average score of your test takers to the corresponding score on the iCritical Thinking Certification. However, translation in the other direction is not appropriate. For populations that are not similar to the concordance study sample, the results may not be accurate. In addition, these comparison tables are not meant to be used for translating individual scores. A test taker who receives a particular score on one exam will not necessarily obtain the corresponding score on the other exam. The concordance tables are most accurate in the middle of the distribution and less accurate in high and low ends due to the overall small sample size.

How were the comparison tables developed?

The comparison tables were calculated based on data from a concordance study conducted from August to September 2009 and from iSkills test takers between November 2008 and April 2009.

Concordance between iSkills Core Assessment and iCritical Thinking Certification Score
iSkills Core
300 295 290 285 280 275 270 265 260 255 250 245 240 235 230 225 220 215 210 205 200 195 190 185 180 175 170 165 160 155 150 145 140 135 130 125 120 115 110 105 100 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

Concordance between iSkills Advanced Assessment and iCritical Thinking Certification Score
iSkills Advanced
700 695 690 685 680 675 670 665 660 655 650 645 640 635 630 625 620 615 610 605 600 595 590 585 580 575 570 565 560 555 550 545 540 535 530 525 520 515 510 505 500 495 490 485 480 475 470 465 460 455 450 445 440 435 430 425 420 415 410 405 400

iCritical Thinking
500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 490 470 450 420 400 380 360 340 320 300 290 270 250 240 230 220 210 190 190 180 170 160 150 140 140 130 120 110 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

iCritical Thinking
500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 490 470 460 440 420 410 390 370 360 340 330 320 300 290 280 270 260 250 240 230 220 210 200 190 180 170 150 140 130 120 100 90 80 60 50 40 20 10 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

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